Middle East

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's crude supply to China will decline in March compared to the previous month after the kingdom raised its prices to their highest level in over two years. A tally of Saudi Aramco's allocations to Chinese refiners revealed that the company will ship around 41 million barrels in March. This is down from 43.5 million barrels in February. This is the second consecutive month that Aramco has seen its allocation to China drop. The sources stated that Sinopec, a joint venture between Aramco and the Chinese state-owned company, and Aramco’s joint venture Fujian...

The SHANA news outlet of the Ministry reported that Iran's Oil Minister said unilateral sanctions against crude producers would destabilise the energy markets. This was after U.S. president Donald Trump stated he would try to drive Tehran's exports of oil to zero. "Depoliticising of the oil market is vital for energy security." Mohsen Paknejad, OPEC's Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said that unilateral sanctions and pressure against major oil producers will destabilise the oil and energy market and harm consumers worldwide. Paknejad made his comments after Trump restored the Iranian president's rights. "maximum pressure" Campaign against Iran, which includes efforts...

A U.S. official revealed that Donald Trump plans to resume his "maximum-pressure" campaign against Iran on Tuesday in order to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and to drive its oil exports to zero. This move returns the U.S. to its tough policy towards Iran, which Trump, as a Republican Republican, had practiced during his first term. Trump accused his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of reducing the U.S.'s resolve towards Iran. Trump said in his campaign that Biden’s policy of not strictly enforcing sanctions on oil exports had weakened Washington, and emboldened Tehran. This allowed Tehran to sell oil, collect...

The Pakistani Prime Minister's Office announced that the Pakistan signed an agreement on Monday with the Saudi Fund for Development, delaying by one year the payment of $1.2 billion on oil imports. The state-run Pakistani television broadcast the signing ceremony in real time before a delegation of the fund, led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad, visited Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff. The office issued a press release in which Sharif expressed his appreciation for the signing of the Oil Import Financing Facility. The office said that Pakistan would receive oil with a one-year deferred payment. The Prime...

The government has granted permission to Russia's biggest oil companies to continue gasoline sales until the end February. This extends a waiver that was due to expire this Friday. The Russian government lifted the temporary ban at the end of November on gasoline exported by the majority of producers. However, the restrictions were extended to other exporters, such as independent traders or re-sellers until January 31. These restrictions will continue to be in effect in February. The first ban on gasoline imports was implemented in March of last year in response to a steep rise in wholesale fuel costs and...

Several trade sources said that Syria wants to import oil through local intermediaries because its first post-Assad import bids did not attract much interest from oil traders, due to the ongoing sanctions and financial risk. According to tender documents, the caretaker government of Syria issued tenders for the import of 4.2 million barrels crude oil as well as 100,000 tons of each fuel oil and diesel. Sources said that the tenders which closed on the Monday have not been awarded, and the government has now begun negotiating with local firms to meet the requirements. After Iran seems to have stopped...

Saudi Economy Minister Faisal Alibrahim said on Friday that the $600 billion of expanded financial investment and trade with the United States discussed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman includes investments as well as procurement from the public and private sectors. The state news firm said on Thursday that the crown prince had affirmed the kingdom's objective to widen its financial investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and possibly beyond that. This number represents investments, procurement, public and private sector, and it's simply a mirror reflection of...

ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy on Friday started exploratory drilling for natural gas in a. possibility west of Cyprus, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides. stated on X. The east Mediterranean has actually yielded some major gas. discoveries in the last few years, and an interruption in energy products. from Russia after its 2022 intrusion of Ukraine has actually honed. Europe's attention on protecting alternative sources of supply. Cyprus progresses expedition activities, aiming to be an. alternative and trustworthy source of natural gas for the EU,. Christodoulides wrote in his post. He stated drilling at the prospect, called Electra, got. underway on Friday...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday stated he will demand Saudi Arabia and OPEC lower the expense of oil and will ask Riyadh to increase a scheduled U.S. investment bundle to $1 trillion from an initial reported $600. billion. His remarks come one day after Trump and Saudi Arabian Crown. Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed what the White House called. the kingdom's global financial ambitions along with. trade concerns. Previously on Thursday, the Saudi State news agency stated. the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment. and trade with the U.S. over the next 4 years. But I'll...

India's staterun refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp sees its Russian oil processing down to 20% in March from 31% this month as it awaits deals from traders, its head of finance Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told an analyst call on Thursday. The company and other state refiners such as Indian Oil Corp. , Hindustan Petroleum, and Mangalore Refinery. and Petrochemicals purchase Russian oil in the spot market. and the absence of clearness concerning its accessibility is requiring. them to look for alternatives. BPCL's Russian oil processing declined to 31% in December. quarter from about 35-40% in the previous month. The business,. together...

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan alShibani stated on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign financial investment and that Damascus is also dealing with energy and electrical power collaborations with Gulf states. Syria's economic resources are diverse and we have a great deal of sectors - industry, tourist ... of course the economy in the future will be open and will open the road for foreign investment, he said at the World Economic Online forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Shibani paid different check outs to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in early January, during...

Saudi Arabia's. foreign minister stated on Tuesday he did not see Donald Trump's. new administration increasing the danger of an IsraelIran. dispute, attending to a problem the area has actually feared since the. start of Israel's war in Gaza. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also stated in Davos that he. hoped President Trump's method to Iran would be consulted with a. willingness by Tehran to favorably engage with the U.S. administration and address the problem of its nuclear programme. Certainly a war in between Iran and Israel, any war in our. area is something we ought to try to...

Oil prices were little altered on Monday, as investors awaited developments in a possible Russia-Ukraine deal that may ease sanctions disrupting the global supply flow. Brent crude futures were up 7 cents to $74.81 per barrel at 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was unchanged at $70.75 per barrel. After U.S. president Donald Trump and officials of his administration announced that they had begun talks with Russia to end war in Ukraine, the market kept a close eye on the progress of peace negotiations. If negotiations result in a resolution, then more Russian barrels will enter the global supply,...

On Monday, oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive day as a result of expectations that a Russia-Ukraine agreement would ease sanctions disrupting supplies and concerns about global tariff wars slowing economic growth and reducing energy demand. Brent crude futures fell 20 cents or 0.2% to $74.59 per barrel at 0112 GMT. Brent crude futures have fallen 3.1% over the last four sessions since U.S. president Donald Trump and officials from his administration announced that they were in talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $70.51 per barrel, down by...

The oil prices in Asian trade rose on Friday. They were poised to end a three-week decline. This was boosted by the rising fuel demand, and expectations that U.S. tariffs for reciprocal global tariffs will not be implemented until April. This would give more time to avoid trade wars. Brent futures rose 23 cents (0.3%), or to $75.25 per barrel, by 0505 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), gained 16 cents (0.2%), or to $71.45. Brent and WTI both rose by 0.5% this week. U.S. president Donald Trump ordered officials from the Department of Commerce and Economics to...

The oil market edged lower on Wednesday, as an industry report revealed an increase in U.S. stockpiles of crude and worries about tariffs weighed on the sentiment. However, stronger refining margins tempered the market's decline. Brent futures dropped 25 cents or 0.3% to $76.75 per barrel at 0408 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 28 cents or 0.4% to $73.04 per barrel. Brent prices rose by 3.6%, while WTI climbed 3.7%. According to Tuesday's American Petroleum Institute data, sources citing the American Petroleum Institute, crude oil stocks in the U.S. grew by 9.4 millions barrels during the week ended...

The oil prices dropped on Wednesday, as a report from the industry showed that U.S. crude stocks had increased. Worries about tariffs also weighed on the sentiment. This wiped out three days' gains fueled by Middle East tensions. Brent futures dropped 36 cents or 0.47% to $76.64 per barrel at 0130 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 37 cents or 0.5% to $72.95 per barrel. Brent prices rose by 3.6%, while WTI prices climbed 3.7%. According to Tuesday's American Petroleum Institute data, sources citing the American Petroleum Institute, crude oil stocks in the U.S. grew by 9.4 millions barrels...

Early Asian trading on Friday saw oil prices rise, following a sharp increase in March oil prices by Saudi Arabia's oil company. Brent crude futures were up 14 cents or 0.19% to $74.75 per barrel at 0148 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 18 cents or 0.25% to $71.21 per barrel. Saudi Aramco announced on Wednesday that it would increase its prices for buyers in Asia to take delivery of oil in March due to the increased demand from China and India, as U.S. sanctioned Russian supply. Aramco increased the price of March shipments in all other regions....

A survey shows that OPEC's oil production fell for a second consecutive month in January. This was due to a decline in exports, primarily from Nigeria and Iran, which offset a recovery in the United Arab Emirates, where maintenance on fields had reduced output in December. According to a survey released on Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 26,53 million barrels of oil per day in December, a decrease of 50,000 bpd compared with the revised December total. Nigeria and Iran saw the biggest drops. The modest drop in production came at a time when the...

ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.), a state-owned company, has pursued a number of mergers and acquisitions with European companies with the aim to diversify its chemicals and renewable energy businesses. ADNOC has been involved in the following deals and discussions: COVESTRO ADNOC announced on October 1 that it had agreed to purchase German chemicals producer Covestro, for $15.1 billion. This is one of the largest foreign takeovers in Gulf states and aims to reduce the country's heavy reliance on oil during the energy transition. Austrian oil group OMV and ADNOC announced on January 31 that they are considering a...

The oil prices increased on Friday, as the markets weighed the threat of tariffs that U.S. president Donald Trump could impose on Mexico and Canada - the two biggest crude exporters into the U.S. - this weekend. Brent crude futures, which expire on Friday, rose 38 cents to $77.25 per barrel at 0110 GMT. The April contract, which is more active, was up 34 cents at $76.23 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI), which is also known as WTI, gained 49 cents and reached $73.22. Brent will fall by 1.6% this week while WTI is down 2%....

Early trading on Thursday saw little change in crude oil prices as the markets awaited tariffs from U.S. president Donald Trump against Mexico and Canada, two of the largest suppliers of crude to United States. Brent crude futures were up 7 cents or 0.1% at $76.71 per barrel as of 0122 GMT. U.S. Crude Futures rose 17 cents or 0.2% to $72.79 On Wednesday, U.S. Crude Futures settled at the lowest price of this year. Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that President Donald Trump plans to fulfill his promise on Saturday to impose tariffs on Canada &...

Oil rates held steady on Wednesday, with traders carefully watching President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and the potential effect of the national energy emergency situation he stated on his first day in workplace. Brent unrefined futures were 18 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $ 79.11 per barrel at 1415 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.65. As more information emerge regarding energy production and trade contracts, traders will examine the balance between economic growth, energy security, and policy risks, stated Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone. Trump said late on Tuesday that...

OPEC's share in India's. petroleum imports edged up in 2024, increasing for the very first time in. nine years, after top supplier Russia's share dipped, information. gotten from trade sources showed. Russia's share in the world's third-biggest oil importer and. consumer is expected to drop further in 2025 after Washington. last Friday announced sweeping sanctions targeting Russian. manufacturers and tankers, interrupting supply from the world's No. 2. manufacturer to India and China and tightening up ship schedule. India imported 4.84 million barrels daily of oil in 2024,. up 4.3% from the previous year, the information showed. The share of Organization...